course creation

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Backwards Design and Transparency 2: Modules and Assignments

Previously we discussed how to use backwards design to design an entire course. You can apply some backwards design principles when creating your modules as well. Brightspace’s HTML editor and Insert Stuff tool are great for creating modules that provide clarity to your students by keeping the rationale for your decisions easily accessible and in …

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Backwards Design and Transparency at the Course Level

Numerous instructional and course design models depend upon “backwards design” as their prime organizing principle. Many instructors start by deciding which content they want to include in their course, then decide on assessments, then course objectives. Backwards design reverses that process, making content the last thing you would choose.  Flower Darby, in her book Small …

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Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction: Time tested approach to successful instruction

Oftentimes instructors need a simple, repeatable process to help them when they are in the weeds of course design. One such process is Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction.  Robert Gagné was an American educational psychologist best known for developing multiple systems for simplifying and delivering instruction. He pioneered the science of instruction during World War …

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New Semester, New Course: A Series on Course Redesign

Here we are again – a new semester! As you begin to prepare for your next semester, you should consider taking a good look at your courses and brushing them up with a little redesign. Why look at courses for redesign? First, a course redesign can help mitigate problems from a course copy, saving time …

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